felt right. It resonated with me. Another one
was more lighthearted, where a bunch of legs
were holding up a car was titled, ‘The first 12
step meeting.’ I thought that was humorous. It
doesn’t register in reality but the whimsy spoke
to me. You have to have some light-heartedness to get through recovery.”
Despite more awareness in the community
at large about the nature of addiction, many
are still close-minded to the humanity that
remains at the center of every addict.
As for the captions, Dr. Auerbach explained that finding the
right words to correlate with the photos was often the hardest part.
“Mozart said when he was composing that he looked for notes that
loved each other. I was looking for words and images that matched.
Just one word can alter everything. It was a lot of writes and rewrites.
I’m still rewriting,” he laughed.
Dr. Auerbach is so dedicated to the evolution of his process that
he kept a basket of the exhibit images and blank lines near the Pyro
Gallery entrance. Guests were invited to write their own potential
captions for each photo and submit them as well.
“I want the whole public to interact and consider this. When I
took the show to The Healing Place, to the Morton Center, they were
so spontaneous! They all came up with something different. You
project your own issues on to each photo. People who have lived
with addiction may come up with much better titles than I can.”
Dr. Gregory Jones is the medical director for the Kentucky Physicians Health Foundation, which cares for physicians affected by substance and alcohol addiction.
Dr. Auerbach reached out to Dr. Jones in the winter
of 2014 to ask about the project and invited him
to see the exhibit in its current form just prior to
the gallery opening.
Dr. Jones agreed to get the word out, putting a
link on the foundation’s website and taking cards
to put in their offices. The art may have spoken to
him more directly than others.
“I’m in recovery myself. I have been for a little over 19 years,” he explained. “There were two
pieces that I caught a feeling from. There was a
photograph of a person on the end of a diving
board, diving out into nothing. That first step
into recovery feels like a leap of faith. That one
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“I’m in favor of anything that raises the
conversation so more people are aware that
addiction: 1) is a very common and pervasive illness and 2) has a treatment and isn’t
hopeless. There are a whole lot more people
than you know that have already made that
journey and you never know about it because
anonymity is a crucial part of recovery.”
Just a few days after “Inside the Experience of Addiction” opened
in May, Dr. Auerbach was given a written message by a gallery
visitor. It read:
“Thank you for making something so brave. It took me decades to
overcome the fallout of my father’s cocaine addiction, and sometimes
the memories still take my breath away. This exhibit was so honest,
so cathartic. I love you for making this.”
While the exhibition of Inside the Experience of Addiction ended
on June 27, the art continues to live on as an ever evolving piece
looking for future homes. More about Dr. Keith Auerbach and the
exhibit itself can be found at www.auerbachphoto.com.
Note: Aaron Burch is the communications specialist for the Greater
Louisville Medical Society.